Self-Standoffs
Unwanted Support
Look for Uncuttable Supports
Defending a Space by Attacking It Yourself
A Dislodged Unit's Support is Always Cut
The Only Defense May Be to Attack Your Attacker
Defensive Order of Battle
We'll start with a simple tactic that everyone should be familiar with -- the self-standoff. In Example 1.1, France hasn't yet occupied Spain on a Fall turn and is wary of Germany's intentions. He must therefore prevent Italy from taking Marseilles while at the same time wishing to remain in Spain and Burgundy.
Italy: Army Piedmont -> Marseilles. (*bounce*)
France Army Spain -> Marseilles. (*bounce*)
France: Army Burgundy -> Marseilles. (*bounce*)
The self-standoff guarantees that Italy cannot enter Marseilles, and also holds Spain and Burgundy whether Piedmont attacks Marseilles, holds or moves back to the East.
Unfortunately, most Diplomacy players can vividly remember the first time their opponent upset their self-standoff by lending "unwanted support" to one of their own moves instead of attacking!
Italy: Army Piedmont SUPPORT French Army Spain -> Marseilles.
France Army Spain -> Marseilles.
France: Army Burgundy -> Marseilles. (*bounce*)
Using this trick, Italy has denied France the build for Spain, and furthermore prevented her from building a fleet in Marseilles!
The previous example showed how you can use unwanted support to disrupt an opponent's self-standoff. But there are also many other situations where an unexpected support can alter the results of your opponents' moves.
In Example 1.3, Russia has told Austria that he intends to attack Turkey. Austria hopes to take advantage of this situation by attacking Warsaw while Russia is distracted in the South. In order to make sure the sneak attack goes according to plan, Austria lends unexpected support to one of Russia's moves.
Austria: Army Rumania SUPPORT Russian Army Ukraine -> Sevastapol.
Austria: Army Budapest -> Galicia.
Russia: Army Ukraine -> Sevastapol.
Russia: Fleet Sevastapol -> Armenia.
Turkey: Fleet Black Sea -> Sevastapol. (*bounce*)
Without the support from Rumania, the army in the Ukraine might bounce in Sevastapol and would then be able to defend Warsaw next turn.
Whether you're on the offensive or on the defensive, one of the first steps in analyzing a position is determining which supports can be cut and which cannot. You need to be able to find the uncuttable supports at a glance, since they are the pillars your plans will rest upon.
In Example 1.4, Italy is trying to take Trieste using the following (faulty) logic: "I have two supports and so does he, but I can cut one of his, so I will win."
Italy: Army Tyrolia SUPPORT Army Venice -> Trieste.
Italy: Army Venice -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
Italy: Fleet Adriatic Sea SUPPORT Army Venice -> Trieste. (*cut*)
Italy: Fleet Ionian Sea -> Albania. (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Vienna SUPPORT Army Trieste.
Austria: Army Trieste HOLD.
Austria: Fleet Albania -> Adriatic Sea. (*bounce*)
Unfortunately, Italy hasn't looked closely enough. The support from Tyrolia is reliable (because Vienna can't cut it and support Trieste at the same time), but the support from the Adriatic Sea is not. It can be cut from Albania. If Italy wants to be assured of taking Trieste this turn, he must use the uncuttable support from Venice instead of the unreliable one from the Adriatic Sea. Unfortunately, this means that Italy must take Trieste with his fleet instead of one of the armies, which will probably slow further progress. That is the price of the guaranteed move.
An effective way to defend a space you occupy is to attack it with your own units. If your enemy also attacks the space, then the unit is protected by the "beleaguered garrison" rule. If your enemy does not attack, then you are protected by the rule that prevents your from dislodging your own units.
A frequent advantage of this approach is that the attacking units can be behind the front line. This frees the unit on the front line to attack without concern for defending itself.
In Example 1.5, Turkey has agreed to support the Russian army in Galicia to Budapest. Having mastered the previous topic, you quickly note that a support from Serbia cannot be cut, but a support from Trieste could be. Therefore, Turkey supports the attack from Serbia and uses Trieste to cut any possible Austrian support from Vienna. This leaves open the possibility of an attack on Trieste, so Turkey attacks Trieste himself from Albania and the Adriatic Sea. Finally, Venice cuts a possible second support against Trieste from Tyrolia. This assault cannot be stopped!
Turkey: Army Serbia SUPPORT Russian Army Galicia -> Budapest.
Turkey: Army Trieste -> Vienna. (*bounce*)
Turkey: Fleet Albania -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
Turkey: Fleet Adriatic Sea SUPPORT Fleet Albania -> Trieste.
Turkey: Army Venice -> Tyrolia. (*bounce*)
Russia: Army Galicia -> Budapest.
Russia: Fleet Rumania HOLD.
Austria: Army Vienna SUPPORT Army Budapest. (*cut*)
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*cut, dislodged*)
Austria: Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
Be sure to contrast this result with the more obvious defense of Trieste -- supporting it in place. Since Trieste cannot attack Vienna while being supported in place, it must rely upon adding a second support to the attack on Budapest. Isn't adding another attacking support as good as cutting one of the defender's supports? No, because the support from Trieste is itself vulnerable to being cut, whereas the cutting of Vienna's support cannot be prevented.
Turkey: Army Serbia SUPPORT Russian Army Galicia -> Budapest.
Turkey: Army Trieste SUPPORT Russian Army Galicia -> Budapest. (*cut*)
Turkey: Fleet Albania SUPPORT Army Trieste.
Turkey: Fleet Adriatic Sea SUPPORT Army Trieste.
Turkey: Army Venice -> Tyrolia. (*bounce*)
Russia: Army Galicia -> Budapest. (*bounce*)
Russia: Fleet Rumania HOLD.
Austria: Army Vienna SUPPORT Army Budapest.
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*cut*)
Austria: Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
There are a couple of very important generalizations here. First, the act of cutting a defender's support is a guaranteed move, whereas the act of supporting an attack may be vulnerable to being cut.
Second, you should think about using the units that are most exposed to the enemy to attack or to cut supports; those that are partially exposed to support your attack; and those behind the lines to protect the others. This is the simplest recipe I know for finding a good set of attacking moves quickly.
Remember that self-dislodgment is not allowed even if some of
the attacking or supporting units are foreign. Players often misinterpret
the rules in this area. The one exception is that if the foreign
forces alone are strong enough to capture the space, then
the attack succeeds. (This is to prevent a defender from turning
an otherwise successful attack upon himself into a forbidden self-dislodgment
merely by adding his support to it.)
Although you normally can't cut a support of an attack directed against yourself, any unit that is dislodged has its support cut. Therefore you can cut a support into yourself if you dislodge the supporting unit.
In Example 1.7, Russia has agreed to support Serbia to Budapest. Albania will cut any possible support from Trieste. But what happens if Budapest supports Trieste to Serbia?
Russia: Army Rumania SUPPORT Austrian Army Serbia -> Budapest.
Turkey: Army Serbia -> Budapest.
Turkey: Fleet Albania Trieste. (*bounce*)
Turkey: Army Bulgaria -> Serbia. (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Trieste -> Serbia. (*cut, dislodged*)
Austria: Army Trieste -> Serbia. (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
Because Serbia's attack on Budapest dislodges it, Budapest's support into Serbia is cut and Trieste does not capture Serbia. Note, however, that this tactic can be very dangerous, since it relies on the successful dislodgment of Budapest (ordinarily cutting a support is a guaranteed thing). If Russia fails to order the support as anticipated, then disaster ensues.
Russia: Army Rumania HOLD.
Turkey: Army Serbia -> Budapest. (*bounce, dislodged*)
Turkey: Fleet Albania Trieste. (*bounce*)
Turkey: Army Bulgaria -> Serbia. (*bounce*)
Austria: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Trieste -> Serbia.
Austria: Army Trieste -> Serbia.
Austria: Army Tyrolia -> Trieste. (*bounce*)
Instead of capturing Budapest, Turkey now loses Serbia!
There is one exception to this rule (in the 1982 rules only).
A convoyed army doesn't cut supports given by certain fleets,
and these supports aren't cut even if the fleet is dislodged.
See the section on Convoy Disruption Paradoxes.
If you can't defend a unit by supporting it in place or by cutting the attacker's support, you may still be able to defend the unit by supporting it into the attacker's space.
In Example 1.9, England wants to defend Brest from a French attack. He cannot support his fleet in Brest because the support will probably be cut; he can't cut the French support from Paris; nor can he attack Brest himself with other units. The only defense that blocks the French attack is to attack the attacker right back!
France: Fleet Picardy -> Brest (*bounce*)
France: Army Paris SUPPORT Fleet Picardy -> Brest.
France: Fleet Spain (North Coast) -> Mid-Atlantic Ocean. (*bounce*)
England: Fleet Best -> Picardy. (*bounce*)
England: Army Belgium SUPPORT Fleet Best -> Picardy.
England: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean -> Brest. (*bounce*)
Although Belgium does not border Brest and cannot support Brest to hold, it does border Picardy and can therefore support Brest to attack Picardy. If the attack does indeed come from Picardy, this is just as good.
If France does not attack as expected, Brest may actually advance to Picardy, so England must also defend Brest from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean.
Note that if France supports his attack from Picardy instead of Paris, then the support will still be cut because the fleet in Picardy is dislodged (as we saw in Example 1.7):
France: Fleet Picardy SUPPORT Army Paris -> Brest (*cut, dislodged*)
France: Army Paris -> Brest. (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Spain (North Coast) -> Mid-Atlantic Ocean. (*bounce*)
England: Fleet Best -> Picardy.
England: Army Belgium SUPPORT Fleet Best -> Picardy.
England: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean -> Brest. (*bounce*)
There are at least five different ways to defend a unit which is being attacked. Make sure you don't overlook the more obscure options!
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